Crude futures settle lower after four straight sessions of gains, with the market seeing a bearish tilt in the unexpected 3.5 million barrel U.S. crude inventory build and OPEC keeping its demand growth estimates unchanged for this year and next while returning barrels to the market at an accelerated pace.
The U.S. crude build “wasn’t as negative as widely perceived,” Ritterbusch says, noting most of the increase was in the West Coast region and the 1.1 million barrel draw at Cushing, the Nymex delivery hub.
While strong refinery activity would be bullish for crude demand, “we look for this element to be offset by ongoing increases in OPEC+ production that will likely be hiking crude imports while, at the same time, backing out some exports,” the firm adds.
